Healthy Eating / Taking the worry out of ‘what’s for dinner?’

THIRTY minutes of planning can save hours of worrying when it comes to the daily question of: “What’s for dinner tonight?”.

Without a little bit of meal planning we are left victim to what’s available and convenient, which is often highly processed, low in vegetables and not so good for long-term health.

So, to help take the pressure off, here are my six steps to healthy meal planning:

Dietitian Clare Wolski.

Set some time. Book some time and space to plan your week. Grab a pen, paper, recipe books and/or the internet. This little bit of time and effort goes a long way.

Plan in your plans! Are you going out to dinner one night? Do you have after-work commitments such as social sport or kid’s activity? All of these things affect the time to prepare a healthy meal. If you know you’re going to be out, there’s no point planning to cook an elaborate meal. Be realistic about what you can achieve.

Check what’s in the fridge/freezer/pantry. Are there things that need to be use up before they go off? Can some money be saved by using what’s already in the pantry?

Pick realistic meals. This can be a great opportunity to get the family involved and help to share the workload. There’s also evidence to suggest that getting kids involved in meal planning and preparation improves their food skills, Take inspiration from recipe books, websites and blogs. Don’t make your plan unachievable by putting in new, challenging recipes every night. Maybe keep several staple meals that are easy to prepare and try just one or two new recipes a week. This way you can slowly expand your repertoire.

Check your veg. Does each of your dinner meals have half a plate of vegetables? This is a fool proof way of getting a nutritious meal. If the recipe you’ve picked is a one-pot dish without much vegetable (such as lasagne or pasta carbonara) think about how to dish it up with some extra veg. Can you grate some zucchini into the meal or serve it with half a plate of salad?

Create a shopping list and stick to it! Once you know what you want to cook, you can figure out what needs to be bought for the whole week and stock the fridge, freezer and pantry with all the necessities. Again, this will save you time, money and a trip down the confectionary aisle.

Voila! This weekly ritual has saved me countless hours of worry and helps me to eat a balanced meal each night of the week. Oh, and be sure to keep old meal plans. They can make for a nice fall back when you are running low on motivation and inspiration!

WHEN Scott Morrison parachuted into the prime ministership, he was anxious to remove outstanding barnacles quickly. Now that he’s foolishly created one of his own, he needs to bring a similar sense of urgency to […]

Like this:

WOMEN have taken to social media to express their outrage after US rapper YG berated women at the music festival Spilt Milk on Saturday (November 17). Carly Paine from Freedom Music in Canberra says during his […]

Like this:

A GROUP of marchers are walking more than 560 kilometres from Sydney to Kosciuszko National Park to raise awareness of NSW’s recently-passed Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act 2018 – and they’ll soon be in Queanbeyan. […]

Like this:

A LABOR government would likely have to rely on at least one Senate crossbencher besides the Greens to pass contested legislation, according to an analysis from The Australia Institute, a progressive think tank. The analysis, […]

Like this:

TWO 17-year-old boys went on an expensive vandalism spree in July after they allegedly broke 138 building and vehicle windows. The two boys caused about $100,000 worth of damage at a school in Deakin, Red […]